Selaginella - growing and care at home, photo

Plant Selaginella (Selaginella) totals about 300 various types, 25 of which are bred at room conditions. Belongs to the family Selaginellaceae (Selaginellaceae), clowns. In fact, it is neither a deciduous nor a fern plant, although it exists on our planet longer than each of these species.

It grows in tropical areas, in height and width reaches 20-30 cm. It grows year-round. Subject to all conditions of care, it can grow over several years (perennial). The plant attracts with its unusual greenery, belongs to the decorative. All species, including those growing in the tropics, do not bloom.

Useful properties of selaginella

The plant has long been used in Chinese and Indian medicine. It has antipyretic and analgesic properties, helps to cure diseases of the liver and urinary tract. There is evidence that selaginella is effective in treating menstrual irregularities, treating Botkin’s disease, and treating the effects of sunstroke. Dampened leaves with water are applied to the forehead to relieve headaches.

Some plant species contain the p53 enzyme. This substance helps fight cancer.

Home Care for Selaginella: A Quick Guide

Growing selaginella at home is not possible for every grower. The plant is capricious enough and in order to grow a beauty with bright green openwork leaves, it is required to observe a number of requirements, such as:

Caring for selaginella at home. In detail

If you like selaginella, home care will require patience and the mandatory implementation of all the recommendations of experienced gardeners. In an apartment, this tropical sissy survives with difficulty. But if you try, the plant will thank you with bright greenery and unusual shoots.

So, what is recommended so that selaginella at home becomes your pride for many years.

Landing Selaginella

For planting, you need to prepare a suitable pot and soil mixture. It is advisable to prepare a composition of sheet earth, sand and peat. Components must be taken in equal parts. Choose a pot small, but wide enough, the root system of the plant is short. The optimal planting time is spring, the end of winter.

Having planted a seedling, do not forget to shed it well and take it to a shaded place.

Bloom

The plant does not bloom in indoor floriculture, homemade selaginella is used only for the sake of the original openwork greenery.

Temperature mode

To ensure normal growth, the plant requires a temperature range of 14-22 degrees. There are species that are cold-loving, for them the optimum temperatures are maintained within 9-14 degrees. It is advisable to protect the plant from drafts.

Make sure that the earthen lump does not dry out. Otherwise, the leaves darken and fall, the plant may die.

Spraying

High humidity is required selaginella all year. To maintain a minimum level of humidity within 60%, it is recommended to spray with warm soft water at least 3-4 times a day. To soften, the water is pre-boiled and sedimented for several days.

The following method will help to moisten the air around the plant well: put the pot with the plant on wet expanded clay. For a short time, you can leave water in the pan, not forgetting to drain it so that the plant does not die. Providing the flower with increased humidity, do not forget about the good ventilation of the room.

Lighting

The flower feels good in penumbra places. The sun's rays, especially direct ones, are destructive for him. Ideal to put flower pots on the windows in the western or eastern part of the house. Lack of sunlight is also harmful to the plant.

So that it does not die in the winter, it is necessary to organize artificial lighting.

Watering

The plant is moisture-loving, it needs abundant watering all year round. At temperatures below 19 degrees, water the flower sparingly, making sure that the soil is always moist. Do not let it dry.

For watering, use room temperature water, having previously boiled it and having stood it for several days.

Selaginella pot

When purchasing a pot for selaginella, remember that too spacious will be harmful to it. Since the root system of the flower is short, and the roots grow mainly on the sides, then prefer small pots that are necessarily wide.

It is noticed that the selaginella flower at home grows better in round pots.

Selaginella soil

Native of the tropics prefers moisture-intensive and loose soils, preferably with a neutral or slightly acidic environment. The finished mixture can be purchased in a specialized store, choosing the soil in transparent bags, to more accurately determine its composition. At home, the mixture needs to be shed with boiling water for disinfection.

It is quite possible to prepare the soil yourself. It will take sheet soil, washed sand, fibrous peat. Everything is taken in equal parts. It is advisable to withstand the earth and peat several hours before this in the freezer. You can add a little sphagnum and charcoal to the substrate.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Top dressing for this plant is very important. From spring to late autumn, the flower needs enhanced dressing - up to 3-4 times a month. In the winter, it is better not to overfeed the plant, reducing the feeding to 1 time in 2 months.

It is recommended to use for this purpose top dressing for decorative and deciduous plants or fertilizer for orchids. Fertilizer is diluted with water in a ratio of 1 part of fertilizer to 3 parts of water. In winter, 4 parts are taken per 1 part of fertilizer.

Selaginella transplant

The plant is transplanted once every few years. It is advisable to hold such an event in spring or late winter. The pot where the flower is transplanted should be small.

To avoid stagnation of moisture, a layer of expanded clay is poured on the bottom of the pot. Then fill the soil, put the plant in the center, distribute the roots and slightly push them into the soil. To fill up with soil mix, without deepening a growth point. It is good to pour warm water and clean in a place near it.

Pruning

Pruning is carried out annually in the spring. If necessary, more often if there are dried leaves and stems. If desired, the plant can be given a spherical or other shape. In these cases, pruning is also done. The plant is cut and to obtain material for its propagation.

Rest period

In selaginella, the dormant period begins in the winter months, although there are no obvious signs of this. With a lack of moisture or a flower in direct sunlight, the plant is forced to slow down its growth.

Propagation of Selaginella

Propagation of the plant is usually carried out by vegetative methods. To grow a diaphragm from spores, it will take a lot of effort, but even so, few people succeed.

Propagation of selaginella by cuttings

For propagation by cuttings, it is necessary to prepare shoots 3-5 cm long. It is advisable to choose those on which the rudiments of the roots in the branches are visible. Germination is carried out in a sand-peat mixture, laying the cuttings on the surface so that they do not touch each other. The lower ends of the roots are sprinkled with a small layer of earth. The earth is periodically moistened.

Propagation of selaginella by division of the bush

To obtain new plants, you can propagate them by dividing the bush. A transplant is recommended in spring or summer. Plants are transplanted into a peat mixture with the addition of sand and sheet soil. New seedlings are first covered with foil. It is necessary to maintain high humidity in pots.

Diseases and Pests

In plunks, the following problems are most often observed:

• The tops of the shoots dry out - air is overdried; frequent humidification is required;
• Selaginella withers and dries - soil is too dry, it is necessary to review the irrigation regime;
• Selaginella shoots turn yellow - the plant may have received too high a dosage of fertilizer;
• Selaginella shoots turn brown and dry - fed with fertilizer;
• Leaf edges curl - the plant received a sunburn, you need to transfer it to a shaded place;
• Selaginella does not grow - lack of nutrients, too low temperature;
• Selaginella leaves darken and die - perhaps the plant is too hot;
• Slow growth - indicates that the flower does not receive enough nutrients or the room temperature is low;
• Stems are stretched - lack of light;
• Selaginella leaves are soft and lethargic - maybe the roots of the plant do not get the right amount of oxygen, the plant needs a transplant.

Selaginella is practically not affected by pests. Sometimes affected by a spider mite.

Types of homemade selaginella with photos and names

Selaginella legless

This flag is also known as the selaginella apoda. Forms sod pads resembling moss. This creeping kind of creeper grows to a height of 20 cm. Grows in Canada. A distinctive feature is short stems with flat shoots. The leaves are emerald in color, rather thin. At the base, the shape of the leaves is heart-shaped, with notches. It is grown as an ampelous culture.

Selaginella Krauss (Krause)

A characteristic feature is creeping stems. The birthplace of the plant is South Africa. In a flower of this species, the leaves are either greenish-yellow or whitish with a colorful tint. It reaches a height of only 2 cm. Due to the small leaves it resembles a fern.

Selaginella Martens

Selaginella Martens grows in the USA. Outwardly, it is a bush with erect stems. It reaches a height of 30 cm. The color of the leaves is mostly green; there is a variety with silver tips. It forms aerial roots, which reach the soil as they grow and root themselves. The shape of the leaf resembles a fern.

Selaginella scaly

Known as Jericho rose or lepidophyllus selaginella. The usual habitat is the deserts of the USA and South America. In flower shops, it is often sold in dried form, similar to a ball of dry grass. Revive this miracle will help planting in a suitable soil mixture and moderate hydration. It forms shoots about 5 cm long, resembling openwork feathers with small scales. In the upper part of the leaflet is a "tongue" to collect moisture.

Selaginella Swiss

It grows in the rocky regions of Europe, the Caucasus and the Far East. It forms a lot of branches with light green leaves. Leaflets are thin, perpendicularly spaced from the stem, with carved edges. Shade-loving and hygrophilous culture.

Finally

Although the selaginella is a rather finicky plant, it still responds well to caring care and becomes a real decoration of the interior. Following the recommendations of experienced gardeners, you can "tame" this exotic Tropicana, and you will admire the unusual plant all year round.

Watch the video: Selaginella martensii: You need this low light house plant! (April 2024).